Der Ring (or De Ring in Dutch) is a shortened title for two theatrical works:

A play by Friedrich Ludwig Schröder (1783).

A comedy in four acts by Friedrich Ludwig Schroder.

The original text

A German translation and adaptation of The Constant Couple (full title The Constant Couple, or A Trip to the Jubilee) by George Farquhar, it was first performed in 1783 in Vienna. (He also translated Farquhar's sequel, Sir Harry Wildair, as Der Ring, oder die unglückliche Ehe durch Delikatesse).

Translations and adaptations

A Dutch translation of the German version, by an anonymous author, appeared some time in the early 1800s.

Performance history in South Africa

1836: A Dutch translation (De Ring) produced in Stellenbosch on 4 June 1836 by Door Yver Vruchtbaar, with as afterpiece De Wonder Doctor (Molière).

Sources

http://www.worldcat.org/title/ring-oder-die-ungluckliche-ehe-durch-delikatesse-ein-lustspiel-in-vier-aufzugen/oclc/249211346

Norbert Greiner, Lach-und Sprachkulturen: Socio-kulturelle varianten bei der Überzetsingen englisher Lustspiele ins Deutsche im 18. Jahrhundert in Europäische Komödie im übersetzerischen Transfer (edited by Fritz Paul, Wolfgang Ranke, Brigitte Schultze): p. 46. Google Books[1]

http://books.google.co.za/books/about/Der_Ring_oder_die_ungl%C3%BCckliche_Ehe_durc.html?id=NhR4twAACAAJ&redir_esc=y

F.C.L. Bosman. 1928. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel I: 1652-1855. Pretoria: J.H. de Bussy. [2]: p.255.

An opera cycle by Richard Wagner (written 1848-1876)

A shortened title for Der Ring des Nibelungen, a cycle of four epic operas by Richard Wagner (1813–1883). Also referred to as The Ring in English.

The cycle

The four operas that constitute The Ring cycle are Das Rheingold (The Rhine Gold), Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), Siegfried and Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods).

The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the Nibelungenlied. It is often referred to as the Ring Cycle, Wagner's Ring, or simply The Ring.

Written over the course of 26 years (1848-1874), The Ring was first performed as a cycle as opening production for the first Bayreuth Festival in 1876.